


an Affair To Remember

by Browneyesparker



Series: Old Movie AUs [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Riverdale CW, Riverdale Old Movie AU, Romance, bughead - Freeform, varchie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-03-21 02:38:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13731354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browneyesparker/pseuds/Browneyesparker
Summary: Archie Andrews meets Veronica Lodge on a cruise, even though they are both engaged to other people, they wind up falling in love. LOOSELY based on "An Affair To Remember". Varchie with minor Bughead.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [katdvs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/katdvs/gifts).



**.**

**Chapter 1**

“Yes Betty, I’m on the boat right now! My bags are all in my room, I have sunblock and sunglasses on. I won’t drink too much or whatever it is you’re planning on saying next. I’ll see you in 9 days, we’re about to set sail. Tell Jughead that I said hello—”

“Excuse me, will you watch where you’re going!?”

Archie Andrews hung up with the girl he was talking to mid-sentence. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

The petite brunette lowered her large sunglasses and raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Clearly. Were you talking to one of your many girlfriends?”

Archie looked shocked. “You know who I am?”

She held up a copy of People magazine with him on the cover, Cheryl Blossom, one of the world’s most well-known heiresses, was draped all over him in a skin tight red dress. “Archie Andrews. You’re famous for _nothing_ except for a long string of high-profile relationships.”

“Hey! I’ve had a few EPs!” Archie protested. “And I’ll have you know, I am _engaged_!”

“I’m pretty sure nobody has ever listened to your EPs and by now, everybody knows about your engagement to Cheryl Blossom.”

“And who are you?” Archie asked.

“Veronica Lodge,” she answered. “My father owns Lodge Industries. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. I am pretty sure you’ve even been to one of his parties before, since you seem to have champagne tastes.”

“Ah. So, _you’re_ an heiress. Doesn’t that make you famous for nothing too?” Archie’s phone started to play _Walking On Sunshin_ e, signaling Betty was calling him again. She’d set it for him after he had ignored her phone calls one too many times because he never checked his caller ID.

“Your girlfriend’s calling you again,” Veronica told him as she put her sunglasses back on.

“She is _not_ my girlfriend!” Archie informed her. “She’s.  . hi Betty—”

_“You hung up on me!”_

I know I hung up on you! I’m sorry!” He said as he watched Veronica leave.

 _“What does she look like? On a scale of 1-10?”_ Betty asked. _“Not that I believe in rating women on a scale but you do seem to like that type of thing.”_

 “She’s definitely a 10,” Archie mused.

_“Are you thinking about having sex with her?”_

“I am not thinking about sleeping with her! I just got engaged!” Archie protested.

_“Since when has that ever stopped you before?”_

Archie rolled his eyes. “I’ve never been engaged before, Elizabeth!”

_“That’s not the point, Archibald! So, what’s her name?”_

 Huh? Oh, I think she said her name was Veronica Lodge—”

 _“Veronica Lodge!?”_ Betty repeated. _“Wow! That’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. I went to school with her. She was in my sorority. I think she got engaged recently. Yup, I’m looking at the announcement right now. She’s engaged to someone named Nick St. Clair. Have you ever heard of him?”_

“Probably. . .” Archie trailed off. “Listen, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later. Okay?”

_“That’s fine, Jughead is about to leave for work anyways! Hey honey! Guess what, Arch is just freshly engaged and he already met—”_

Archie hung up on her for a second time that day. He knew since her husband was home, she wouldn’t call him a third time because she would focus all her attention on him. Except, he’d probably get an earful from Jughead later on about hanging up on Betty _twice_.

He wandered through the cruise ship and saw Veronica standing by one of the railings. He scurried over to her and leaned against it.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” he told her.

Veronica sighed and turned to look at him. “Excuse me?”

“The girl who called me—”

“You mean, Walking On Sunshine?” Veronica interjected.

“Yeah, she’s not my girlfriend. We grew up next door to each other and she married my best friend right out of college. I never even considered dating her, if I’m being honest.”

“And you feel the need to tell me this _because_?”

“I just didn’t want you to think I was cheating on my fiancée,” Archie answered even though that was the last thing he wanted her to think, really.

“Oh, I see.” Veronica smiled at him and adjusted her coat. “Well, thank you for the clarification.”

“Actually, I think she’s somebody you know. . .” Archie hedged. “The girl I was talking to.”

Veronica raised an eyebrow, something Archie got the feeling that she did a lot. “Oh, really? I don’t see how that’s possible. You see, I don’t know anybody that you know. Except maybe for Cheryl and even then, we just acknowledge each other if we have to.”

“Her name is Elizabeth Cooper,” Archie told her. “She was in your sorority in college.”

Recognition dawned in Veronica’s eyes and she instantly softened. “Oh! Betty! Yes, I do remember her! She was like our little den mother. I sent her an engagement announcement even though we lost touch as soon as we graduated. So, she wound up marrying that boyfriend of her’s? They were so crazy about each other. I remember I wanted to find love like that when I knew her.”

“I think everybody did,” Archie said. “I know I did.”

“You’re engaged. Did you find it with the Maple Syrup Princess you’re going to marry?” Veronica asked.

“I like her well enough,” Archie answered. “What about you? Did you find a Betty and Jughead kind of love?”

“That’s a little personal, don’t you think?”

“Well, you just asked me the same question. Fair is fair!” Archie replied.

Veronica smirked. “I like him well enough,” she parroted back. “Do you ask all the girls you just meet these sorts of questions? You do realize that just because I know Betty doesn’t mean you and I are automatically going to become best friends.”

“We’re going to be on the boat together for 9 days,” Archie said, giving her his best smile. “Anything can happen!”

Veronica smiled back, genuinely this time. “We’ll just have to see, won’t we? I think we’re about to get started. I really hope we have smooth sailing all the way through or I might never go on a cruise again.”

“This is your first time going on one?” Archie asked.

“My fiancé is in the ship business,” Veronica replied. “He loves them. He wants me to as well but I’m afraid I watched _Titanic_ one too many times growing up.”

Archie thought of a whole hatful of flirty things he could say to her but decided against it because he could almost see Betty’s disapproving face. “A sinking cruise ship isn’t something you hear about on a regular basis,” he said instead.

“There’s always a first time for everything,” Veronica retorted.

“How about I buy you a drink?”

Veronica gave him a look. “I think the bar tab is included in the price of a ticket. But nice try.”

“That wasn’t a come-on,” Archie informed her. “It’s kind of a cheap one, don’t you think? My come-ons are so good, you won’t realize when it happens.”

Veronica laughed and shook her head as she held up her hand. “I’m engaged, remember? I’ll see you around Archiekins.”

**TBC. . .**

**.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huy, Mojomore, KatDVS, Bolii, Killthemalidaenerys, egilbert, vaarchie, and Ashely thank you SO much for reviewing my first chapter.

**.**

**Chapter 2**

Archie walked into the cruise ship dining room later that day to get some dinner after Betty texted him a reminder to eat.

Veronica was sitting at the bar in a fitted, strapless black dress, deep red lipstick, and diamonds. Archie sat down next to her and pasted on his most charming smile.

“Funny meeting you here,” he said.

“Hilarious,” Veronica replied. “Seeing that we’re on the same cruise and it’s time for supper.”

Archie recovered quickly. “So, what are you drinking?”

Veronica looked at him. “How do you feel about pink champagne? This is a celebration after all. The two of us are getting married when we get home.”

“You have to remind me about that, don’t you?”

“Your BFF, Betty Jones née Cooper doesn’t remind you on a minute-by-minute basis that you’re getting married?” Veronica’s eyes widened and she covered her mouth. “Oh my gosh. That was rude. Betty’s the sweetest, I don’t know why I said that. Old habits.”

“For your information. . .” Archie trailed off. “Betty did remind me that I’m engaged.”

Veronica snickered. “I’m sure you need it!”

“I’m not fickle.”

“You’re just a serial dater,” Veronica replied. “Excuse me, we’ll have two pink champagnes, please.”

The bartender nodded and got a bottle off ice.

“They just have pink champagne lying around? Is this a fifties movie?” Archie asked.

“I special order it whenever I go on a cruise,” Veronica answered. “I like feeling like I’m Debra Kerr.”

“Kerr or _Carr_?” Archie wiggled his eyebrows. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. It’s an argument Jughead and Betty has when they watch _Sleepless in Seattle_.”

The bartender set down two napkins in front of them and flutes of champagne.

Veronica picked up her glass and saluted Archie. “To our significant others and getting married. I wish us both all the good things in life.”

Archie clinked his glass against her’s and drained his drink, coughing a little as the bubbles tickled his nose. He cleared his throat. “So, do you want to have dinner with me?”

Veronica sighed. “I guess so. Just as long as you know this is just friendship. You can’t fall in love with me!”

“I promise!” Archie said sincerely, holding up his pinky finger to hook with her’s. She took it and they shook seriously, not breaking eye contact as they did.

She rose from her bar stool and motioned for him to follow her. “Come along, I’m _starving_!” she told him.

It was like Veronica had the whole ship at her disposal, as soon as they entered the dining room, they were ushered to one of the best tables and a waiter appeared out of nowhere. He poured them both glasses of water before Veronica rattled off an expensive wine order.

When their waiter disappeared, Veronica sat back in her chair and folded her hands, looking at Archie. “So, Archibald, tell me about yourself. Tell me about the Archie Andrews the tabloids doesn’t show us.”

“There’s not much to tell,” Archie answered. “My life before now was very insignificant.”

“The insignificant things make us who we are,” Veronica said.

“That’s easy for you to say, you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. I’m practically a Kardashian when it comes to my fame.”

“Now come on, I know you didn’t get famous for an infamous sex tape with a basketball cheerleader or anything like that. Now tell me, who were you before you were Archie Andrews, playboy extraordinaire?”

“I was just Archie Andrews. I grew up next door to Betty in Riverdale, USA. Jughead was our best friend, somewhere along the line, they fell in love and left me behind. They were content with wrap around porches and iced tea. I was an all American boy. I played baseball, football. All those things. I thought I’d get a football scholarship or something for a famous college like Clemson. But you know what happened, I blew out my knee—”

“Like Kevin in This Is Us?” Veronica interrupted.

“I guess so,” Archie answered. “Anyways, the next thing I knew, I was Youtube famous and all the girls wanted to be with me. I was famous eve before I knew what happened. But I loved the attention.”

“We all do,” Veronica said, taking a sip of her sparkling water. “I can’t blame you. You still do.”

“Just a little bit,” Archie admitted as the waiter returned with their bottle of wine.

“Are you ready to order, Miss Lodge?” he asked.

“The most expensive thing on your menu, of course!” Veronica replied. “We’re having a celebration! Mr. Andrews and I are both engaged. Not to each other, of course.”

He nodded. “Of course. I’ll bring the oysters out right away.”

“What made you?”

“My daddy’s bank account and Coco Chanel,” Veronica answered unironically. “I know I have a charmed life. I’ve come to embrace it, sometimes you have to because sometimes it won’t go away.”

Archie smiled at her. “I understand the appeal. I’ve truly become accustomed to the nicer things in life.”

“So, you have to marry Cheryl,” Veronica said matter-of-factly.

“I wouldn’t say I _have_ to marry her,” Archie replied. “I just think there comes a time when a guy has to settle down.”

“Too bad you decided to settle down so soon,” Veronica teased. “You could have turned the corner and met the person you were supposed to be with.”

“Do you really believe that?”

Veronica shook her head. “No. I believe only a select few people are so lucky to meet the person they’re supposed to be with. The rest of us are lucky if we meet people we can tolerate.”

“You can tolerate Nick St. Cloud?”

Veronica sipped her wine and nodded. “Yup. His billions doesn’t make it _that_ hard, after all and he is handsome in a devilish sort of way.”

“You should know better than to get in bed with the Devil,” Archie replied, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Veronica burst out laughing. “You would know! Cheryl can be a bit of a she-Satan when she wants to be. Trust me, I know her.”

“Cheryl can be sweet when you get to know her.”

“Mmm, okay. I’ll take your word for it!” Veronica now. “Now tell me some more about yourself, Archiekins.”

They spent the rest of dinner in companionable conversation, when it was over, they were both surprised they wanted it to last longer. Veronica suggested they share dessert.

(Chocolate cake, two forks and two plates because she needed to fit into her Vera Wang on her wedding day).

Archie was sorry to say goodnight but when they were leaving, Veronica reserved the same table for two for dinner the next night.

“You don’t mind, do you?” she asked. “I like your company and we can be proof that a guy and girl _can_ just be friends.”

“Of course I don’t mind,” Archie answered. “I’ll be glad to keep you company for the rest of the trip.”

Veronica beamed. “Good. I’ll see you around, Andrews.”

“Sweet dreams, Miss Lodge.”

He was walking to his room when his phone rang. His stomach dropped when he saw Cheryl’s picture come up on caller ID. He almost wished Betty was calling for the umpteenth time that day.

“Hi babe!” Cheryl cooed.

“Hey hon!!!”

“How are you enjoying the cruise?” Cheryl asked. “I’ve seen some pictures on the ship’s Twitter handle. I didn’t know Veronica Lodge could be civil.”

“Oh. . .”

“You should befriend her! It would be good publicity to have a Lodge and St. Cloud at our wedding.”

“Our wedding’s already going to be the social event of the season even if they don’t come,” Archie told her.

“True but it still wouldn’t hurt to have them come as our guests. A subline in _People_ could be about how Veronica and I finally buried the hatchet. You know how people always side with her.”

Archie _did_ know but he wasn’t sure why the two heiresses were feuding and why people always felt the need to take sides. He could care less who wore it best or who came to who’s party. He would always placate Cheryl of course and tell her that _she_ indeed did wear it best. He knew how to say exactly the right thing to charm a girl out of her panties. It had served him well all these years.

Jughead had told him that he needed to be a little less charming.

“. . .I guess we need to learn how to get along anyways and be friends. We are two prominent women in society. Together, we could be a force to be reckoned with.”

“Mmmmh,” Archie agreed, feigning a yawn. “Listen, I’m exhausted. I’m going to get some sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Okay. Love you Archiebear!” Cheryl said blowing kisses into the phone.

“Love you too,” Archie answered but as he inserted his keycard into his door, he was starting to wonder if Veronica was right and he had missed the person he was supposed to be with by settling down with Cheryl.

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not erasing Cheryl’s sexuality but for the sake of the story. . . I hope you’ll tell me what you think. I’m planning on updating semi-regular. 
> 
> Until Next Time!

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was just a sneak peek that I used to bribe a friend with. I will post more later on, maybe in the spring. I hope you’re excited for it! If you have time, go and watch “An Affair To Remember” with Debra Kerr and Cary Grant, it’s the movie this is LOOSELY based on. Leave a review if you like this kind of thing!
> 
> Until Next Time!


End file.
